The ruling National Conference (NC) and the Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are set to face off on Wednesday, with both parties announcing parallel protests.
The BJP has announced a march towards the civil secretariat against what it termed the failure of the Omar Abdullah government on all fronts. The march will begin from Lal Chowk and will be led by BJP state president and Member of Parliament (MP) Sat Sharma and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the assembly, Sunil Sharma. Top BJP leaders have already reached Srinagar for the protest.
The BJP has asked its workers to assemble in Srinagar at Lal Chowk and clarified that only Sat Sharma and Sunil Sharma are authorised to speak to the media on issues faced by the people in Jammu and Kashmir, especially unemployment, rise in electricity tariffs and regularisation of daily wagers.
In response to the BJP’s secretariat march, the NC has threatened to gherao BJP headquarters in both Srinagar and Jammu.
“The NC will peacefully gherao the BJP headquarters in Srinagar and Jammu, demanding accountability for the promises made by the Union government in Parliament and before the Supreme Court. Our demands are clear: constitutional guarantees, restoration of statehood, clearance of the reservation file, and justice for the people of J&K,” an NC spokesperson said.
“The mandate of the people of J&K is not a blank cheque. It must be respected, not taken for granted,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“The mandate of the people of J&K is not a blank cheque. It must be respected, not taken for granted,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}While Opposition parties have alleged that the BJP and NC are on the same page on several issues confronting J&K, this is the first time the two parties will directly face each other on the streets.
Earlier, BJP and Congress workers had a brief clash in Srinagar when BJP leaders and workers held a protest against the Congress outside its office at M A Road. Police later intervened to bring the situation under control.